Metro

Rikers prison guards cleared of inmate beating charges

A Bronx judge on Monday cleared two Rikers Island prison guards of charges related to the beating of an inmate.

Jail guard Kevin Gilkes, 48, stood trial on charges he beat inmate Dapree Peterson, 23. His co-defendant, guard Louis Pinto, 30, was also charged with falsifying records related to the alleged 2011 assault. They were both cleared.

“Defendant Kevin Gilkes on the first count, assault in the third degree, not guilty,” Bronx Supreme Court Justice George Villegas said before repeating “not guilty” for each of the 18 charges against Gilkes and Pinto.

Correction officers in the courtroom pumped their fists and shouted “Yes!” when the last “not guilty” was read, prompting Gilkes’ defense attorney Peter Troxler to turn around and shush them.

The trial sparked bad blood with the Correction Officers union, leading to a November work stoppage that sources said was aimed at preventing Peterson from testifying against the two guards. The stoppage, first reported by The Post, brought criminal cases citywide to a virtual standstill.

City lawyers filed a lawsuit against the union in November, calling the action an “illegal” strike.

“Our judicial system will not be held hostage,” Villegas bellowed in December, when Peterson was finally able to testify.

“On Monday, Nov. 18, and on Tuesday, Nov. 19, our system of justice was under attack by outside forces . . . If the motivation of the outside forces was to attack or intimidate or coerce, the mission failed.”

Peterson — who is currently incarcerated on charges he robbed and slashed a subway rider — testified that Gilkes punched him in the face after he asked for his handcuffs to be adjusted.

Both Gilkes and Pinto declined to comment outside court.